Patients will be able to have scans and tests at a new Community Diagnostic Centre (CDC) from April 2024 as part of a wider NHS initiative to increase access to diagnostic procedures.
North Bristol NHS Trust (NBT) will be offering appointments at the new facility, by ASDA at Cribbs Causeway, from the beginning of April. The CDC is part of the UK Government’s commitment to support NHS recovery, following the Covid pandemic and will enable NBT to provide 45,000 diagnostic procedures every year, in partnership with independent healthcare provider InHealth.
The CDC has been designed to offer multiple tests on one site, increasing diagnostic capacity to deliver treatment for thousands of NHS patients in the area.
The North Bristol CDC will initially consist of mobile units, before transferring into a permanent building once works are completed later in the year. The diagnostics offered will include Endoscopy, Respiratory, Echo and Imaging (X-ray, MRI and CT scans). Both NBT and InHealth have worked together to establish the new centre, which will provide patients with access to diagnostic tests and procedures in the community, delivering a convenient, high-quality patient experience.
Another CDC is also opening in Weston-Super-Mare, run by University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust (UHBW) in partnership with InHealth.
Tim Whittlestone, North Bristol NHS Trust’s Chief Medical Officer, said:
“Our Community Diagnostic Centre at Cribbs Causeway is an exciting initiative for us. We are committed to delivering the best possible patient experience, and the CDC is a great partnership that will help us provide additional capacity so that we can diagnose people more quickly and in an accessible location for many of our patients.”
Dr Joanne Medhurst, Chief Medical Officer at NHS Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire ICB, said:
"Minimising waiting times for diagnosis and treatment is a significant priority for our health and care system. We’re excited to have this key facility in place to support thousands of local people to get the care they need, sooner.”
Geoff Searle, InHealth Chief Executive, said:
“This is another exciting milestone in the South-West CDC programme and we’re pleased to be working in partnership with North Bristol NHS Trust to create this new healthcare facility. Once complete, the North Bristol CDC will be the largest InHealth diagnostic centre in England, and being in such a fantastic, community location, we are delighted to be providing key clinical services to the local population. Across our nationwide network of CDCs, we’ve seen the real difference and positive impact that centres like these can bring for patients, focussed on improving health outcomes, so we are proud of what our partnership with North Bristol NHS Trust will deliver for local people.”
The Government has agreed to invest £2.3billion in opening circa 160 CDCs across the country by 2025, providing around nine million additional tests per year for patients in England.